The Good Side of Evil
by Fern Timberlake
Summary: The world is in peril, and the potentials have been chosen to help save it. One lone girl in Australia doesn't know what gift she has been given and Spike is the only one who can help her. Birthday Present for Jackie's sixteenth.
1. Chapter 1

_1._

_The Exploding Glass_

The shards of the glass exploded from her hand, sending small biting pieces of the wine glass in all directions. The blood red liquid within the glass splashed across the front of the patron.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he accused, spluttering wine from his face while he hastily mopped up his front with his napkin.

The girl, Jackie hadn't seemed yet to register what had happened. She stood, hand clenched around what had previously been a drinking glass in awe.

Where was this coming from? Had she really grasped it that hard, hard enough to break it?

Jackie realised how silent the restaurant had gone, as if they'd been turned to mute, except all their eyes were fixed upon her.

The most unusual fact about the scene that stood before Jackie wasn't the broken glass and it wasn't that she was about to die from embarrassment.

This had happened before, not the breaking of glasses, but this sort of abnormal strength, coming from nowhere.

The metal spoon at the breakfast table, simply snapping under her grip, the ink covering her hands after her pen crumbled in her clasp and when she'd nearly sent the soccer coach to hospital with concussion after she'd misjudged her power when kicking the ball.

Jackie felt a hand on her shoulder. Gavin, her Hospitality teacher quickly steered her from the table whilst apologising profusely to the wine soaked customer whose face had turned deep red, and not from the staining of his drink.

Gavin pulled her into the back room, pushing Jackie into a chair before turning to go back into the dinning room and clear up the mess.

Jackie hadn't moved, nor even uttered a word yet. Too many coincidences today had led her to believe that something weird was going on.

Jackie finally unclenched her fist, a trickle of blood sliding down her palm dropped onto her chest, quickly making a deep red mark that matched the rest of the wine stain.

She could hear the patron's voice, strong and angry yelling about the incident to Gavin. In the moment Jackie silently thanked him for taking care of the situation himself and not leaving her to die from embarrassment.

Gavin hustled back into the back room, a tea towel in his hand and a concern look on his face.

He noticed the blood seeping from Jackie's hand and hastily pressed the tea towel to the cut.

"Don't worry," Gavin started, running his hands through his greying hair as he applied pressure to Jackie's cut.

He wasn't perhaps as old as he looked yet the pressure from running a training restaurant had taken its toll on him.

He had a kind face and a thin and lanky frame of body; his hands were surprisingly cold as they gripped the tea towel to Jackie's hand, perhaps from him being in the fridge previously.

"He's not really that angry, it's just that red wine doesn't come out is all," Gavin trailed off. Jackie knew he was just trying to make her feel better, however it wasn't working, she wasn't really concerned in what state the customer was in, but her surprise glass shatter.

Gavin looked into Jackie's eyes and knelt before her.

"The glass must have been brittle, that's all, it happens sometimes," he soothed, patting Jackie's arm gently.

"Yeah," Jackie started, speaking for the first time "that must have been it," she wasn't sure who she was re-assuring though, herself or Gavin.

Gavin smiled and gave her arm a squeeze. Jackie pulled away, Gavin was kind but she just didn't need to be coddled by her teacher right now and not when he felt so cold.

Gavin seemed to get the message and stood, attempting another smile.

"Stay here for a while, we don't want you to faint, and then come back when you're ready."

Jackie was glad when Gavin left the room, but with the promise of bringing back a cold glass of water.

She needed to have some time to think. It could have been the brittle glass; she'd seen it happen before, although not shatter all over the room but simply break when put on the table heavily.

Jackie shook her head; there was nothing wrong with her. There must have just been some weird series of coincidences what happened today and nothing more.

Jackie sighed with tiredness; this on top of all the homework she had yet to complete was starting to take its toll on her. It seemed that everyone was stressed lately.

She was beginning to think that her life was way too stressful, especially since taking up a high school hospitality night course.

She lifted the tea towel and studied the cut that had sliced through her palm. She was surprised to see that the blood had clotted already. She'd been sure that the cut had been pretty deep; she had had a glass slice its way through her palm. Yet the cut looked shallow and if in fact it could be possible, smaller than before. She was sure it would have needed stitches.

Gavin returned, banging loudly through the door and bringing Jackie from her thoughts, brandishing a glass of water in front of her.

Jackie took the glass with thanks and gave Gavin the tea towel back.

"I think I'll be alright to go back out there again," Jackie said, hoping to get away from Gavin who was starting to get on her nerves, standing and staring at her as if he was looking straight through her.

"Right, right," he said offhandedly, perhaps realising that he'd been staring. "Don't forget to get a bandaid on the way."

Jackie nodded and pushed open the door again hastily needing to get away. Anywhere was better than near Gavin, even back out into the restaurant with the angry patron.

Gavin stood still in the now empty room, full of stacked dishes and cutlery.

He smiled after Jackie, with the tea towel still clenched in his fist. He breathed out, then in again deeply as if having just been soothed. He looked down at the tea towel Jackie had pushed into his hands in her rush to leave the room. He brought it to his face and studied it. He found what he was looking for: a small bloodstain from Jackie's cut.

He pressed it to his face, his nostrils filling with the sent of her blood. His eyes rolled back into his head, the ecstasy of the smell sending him into a frenzy of pleasure. He opened his mouth and pressed the blood stain onto his tongue, enraptured in the taste.


	2. Chapter 2

_2._

_One Big Pile of Sand_

So far, Australia had lived up to all he'd been told it was like: one big pile of sand.

Of course, he was in the middle of Australia, right at the heart of the dessert, where there was the most sand in the country, yet he still felt it was his right to be able to complain about every aspect of his little mission. He had after all not wanted to be the one on this mission.

To any normal person whose eyes might've rested on this presently grumbling man would have seen someone who was perhaps a little unusual looking maybe, but have thought nothing more.

For someone to have heard him talk the thought would have been that he was English by his accent, perhaps a little crude by the language he used.

But this man was so much more than what he appeared to be and so much more than he sounded.

This man's appearance was what some might've considered frightening, only because of the dark clothing and narrowed expression of dislike he constantly adorned.

His black, long leather jacket was his favourite item of clothing; he was rarely seen without it. It was a misconception that he simply might've liked it, it made him look tough but it also had a hidden reason why he always liked it, not one actually visible: it was his prize from someone he'd killed.

It stayed close around his thin body, perhaps longer than it would have been on any other normal sized man as he was just shorter than average.

His white-blonde hair was slicked back tightly against his skull, his pale skin adding to the ghostly appearance it gave him.

Despite looking only in his thirties, the ghostly ambience that followed him was more plausible than expected, this man was actually dead.

The living dead to be exact.

This man was one of many who had been striking fear into the hearts of people for centuries. There had been books written, theories told and even doubts of their existence from non-believers.

How wrong they were.

This man was very real. Although man in appearance, he was a Vampire by the name of Spike, so called as he'd tortured people by driving railroad spikes through them.

Despite his terrifying appearance and name, Spike hadn't drunk blood from a human in a long time.

Although his past had been ridden with evil deeds that would condemn Spike to hell for eternity; his lifestyle had changed after meeting a young blonde American Slayer.

She'd turned his life upside down.

The engine of his little plane cranked and whirred, stirring Spike from his thoughts.

He didn't have much further he could go on this plane; he hoped it would make it the rest of the journey.

The black paint on the surrounding windows of his small plane threatened to peel in the heat and Spike pleaded silently that it wouldn't.

Few things could kill a Vampire, although direct sunlight was a constant and irremovable force.

Maybe he should've taken note of what conditions the plane was best in before stealing it.

It was late afternoon, and the day's heat was just beginning to die down as the sun did.

Spike's time of day was approaching.

Checking his fuel gage, he grumbled again, he was almost out of petrol, and didn't feel like having to waste anymore time stealing more.

Grumbling, it seemed had been all he'd done since leaving America only the previous day.

He didn't want to be surrounded by this huge pile of dust like sand, it reminded him too much of his own deadly fate, if he could help it.

Of course, when he'd told that to who'd sent him here; she was taking very little notice. Spike sighed as he remembered the argument, only days ago.

"Spike, I need you to go down there," she'd said, putting on her pleading voice that made him weak at the knees, yet he promised himself, this time he wasn't going to give in.

His infatuation with this woman had reached its lengths and as much as he loved her, he couldn't give in at any request from her.

They may have come from different sides of the good and evil spectrum and he may belong to her as she did him, but he was still his own person, he didn't want to loose every aspect of his 'bad' personality to subside with whatever whim she had.

"I am not going to the bloody other side of the world just to find some ditsy little trollop!" He'd protested, and besides, he didn't like the heat.

"Look!" she'd cried, tossing back her blonde hair and giving him an icy glare.

"We know that when the spell was cast, all the potential Slayers in the world became real life Slayers."

She continued to glare at him and for once Spike had kept quiet and let her continue. There had been something about the determination in her that made him grow quiet, she was so up for the challenge and nothing would be standing in her way.

She leant back against the wall and relaxed her shoulders, trying to seem reasonable.

The dim lighting in the room cast a long shadow of her petite body across the floor boards.

However small and delicate she looked concealed her real strength and abilities, making her all the more unpredictable.

"With a location spell we were able to find where all these potentials were, one of which being in Australia, and a strong one at that. We know that the Watcher's council has very limited Watchers and don't have enough for the Slayers in America alone!"

She sat down at a table as Spike stood testily in front of her.

"Look love," he started, but stopped as she'd given him a look. She didn't like pet names, although Spike had always used it for her and a few others he'd become to be affectionate with, a very English thing to do, being the country he'd come from 130 years ago.

"Look," he started again. "I'm a Vampire, to put it straight and simple. How do ya think this is gonna go? I'll march right up to her and say: 'You're a Vampire Slayer, destined to kill Vampires, and I'm a Vampire, but you can't kill me, you just have to trust me.' That's plain and simple stupid!"

She'd sighed and stood up from the table and Spike threw up his arms in frustration. This was getting awkward; there had really been no point in arguing, Spike knew she was going to get her way as usual.

"She has no Watcher, no one who'd understand her and probably doesn't even understand it herself yet. Help her Spike, please; I know you can show her how. She'll see the good in you just as I do."

Reluctantly he'd agreed (although muttering about it) and nearly gone straight away. The sooner he could jump start this girl to her senses and drag her to America to help in this raging battle, the sooner it'd all be over and he'd be out of this big pile of sand.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

_His Slayer_

The start of a new school day pronounced itself just as loudly and crudely as every other day did, with the shrill ring of the alarm clock.

Jackie threw her hand at it, the easiest and least energy consuming way to turn off the alarm but was met with a crash.

The shattering sound cut through the dead of the morning more than that of the alarm ring had.

Not only had she turned off the alarm, but she'd smashed it to bits by accident.

She was wide awake now.

She cursed quietly to herself and got out of bed, hiding away the remains of the clock before her mother could see them as she would evidently come to the room to see what the noise had been about.

Another coincidence of her strength? Possibly.

Jackie threw the thought aside; she wasn't thinking about it today, it'd been way too weird the other night, besides, she might just simply be getting stronger! Puberty or something along those lines. Yet a year level full of sixteen year-olds her age hadn't been changing the way she had.

Jackie hastily brushed her long brown hair away from her face. She was different, but wasn't everybody? Possibly not as she was. She sighed; fitting in probably wasn't her greatest ability.

She prepared herself for what she hoped would be an uneventful day of high school.

Spike felt his eye lids pull over his eyes. He shook his head to pull himself out of the awaiting sleep as best as he could.

All this travelling made him tired and sore and even though he was out of the desert now, it was still warm in the suburbs. It just had to be stinking hot when he travelled to Australia, the sun beating down on him, beckoning his very demise, taunting him with an almost cruel and scornful fate.

He pulled his long leather coat closer around him, sheltering any part of his skin that could be exposed to the sunlight. Bursting into flames wasn't the ideal situation he wanted to be in right now. But the leather made him sweat worse than ever, especially sitting in a stolen jet black car with blacked out windows.

He cursed loudly to himself and looked about his surroundings.

He was parked at the local high school. He had an address of a school that she attended and that was it. It was completely useless as his search still included about five hundred girls.

It was just at the beginning of the school day and already several students were pouring into the grounds all either excited to be starting the day or glumly dragging their still half asleep bodies to their first class.

From Spike's position in the car park, just under the shade of a gum tree outside the grounds, he was able to see a lot of what was going on.

He rolled his eyes in annoyance as he saw a pack of girls squeal for some unknown reason.

He was convinced that all teenage girls were giggling and hysterics wrapped in skin tight clothing, not that he really minded the last bit.

Although, retracting his last statement, he had known many younger girls who were not what they seemed on the outside.

He blinked several times, determined to keep himself from falling asleep as it threatened to take over his sate of consciousness.

Surely just resting his eyes for moment wouldn't hurt? He wouldn't go to sleep but just close them to relax a bit; he'd need all his energy if he was to face this Slayer.

It was the sound the whistle that woke Spike up. He looked around suddenly, realising that he'd been asleep for a good part of the day.

"Bullocks," he cursed quietly to himself and looking out of the window where a girl's football match was going on, or soccer, what they called it in Australia. It was where the whistle that woke him up had come from.

His car was parked at the top of the hill and the game was at the bottom, where he could see them but they couldn't see him. Luckily his windows were also blacked out; no one would be able to see him unless they pressed their faces against the windscreen.

The girls on this oval were probably some of the older girls from the high school, was Spike's conclusion due to the fact that they simply looked older than some of the others he'd seen this morning.

They were running about and shouting encouragement at each other in an annoying teenage girl fashion.

Spike frowned in irritation, willing the sun to set so he conduct a better search. With nothing better to do, he followed the game as it continued, watching the desperate efforts as these girls screamed and kicked the ball to one another.

"Where are you, my Slayer?" Spike whispered to himself and nearly slapped himself.

It's slipped out, he'd called this girl 'my Slayer' as if to say that this mission was his own, his eventual accomplishment so he could take her back to America and train her up.

_It's not like that at _all, Spike thought to himself. _I just want to find this twerp, bring her to the bloody awaiting war and get it over and done with. I don't want nothin' to do with this Slayer at all; the Scooby's can sort her out when she gets there. _

The coach on the sideline of the field called for a substitution as a girl ran from the field.

Spike settled back, but still annoyed, he'd fallen asleep on the job and his long leather jacket was now sticking to his arms, plus he hadn't found his Slayer.

_This Slayer,_ he corrected himself.

He watched as this new player ran onto the field and joined in on the game, occasionally shouting for the ball or running after it.

Finally she managed to have her turn at kicking the ball; she took aim and booted it.

Spike watched in amazement as the ball soared high in the air and up to the car park where he was situated. The ball shot past with lightning speed and power and damn near caved in the front of the car next to him.

The ball sat quite innocently in the bent bonnet of the car as the girl ran up the hill to retrieve it.

She came to the car and looked around, trying to see if anyone had noticed that her ball had crumpled the bonnet.

She didn't see Spike gaping at her. Nervously she pulled out her ball and turned and ran, taking no responsibility for what she'd done and ran back down the hill to join back in with the game where no one had seen her escapade expect Spike.

No normal teenage girl could kick a ball with as much force to near destroy a car!

Spike had found his Slayer.


	4. Chapter 4

_4._

_The Good Vampire_

Considering how warm the day had been, the night was cool, mist rose from Jackie's mouth as she breathed.

It was starting to get darker early now; the light of the day was already disappearing from the horizon.

Walking home from another long day of school wasn't too bad, it gave her time to think and as a plus she didn't live that far from school.

Still, she willed herself to get home quickly, she hated to admit it but sometimes the evening scared her.

The darkness of the sky showed no stars at this time, yet a round full moon shone down on the ground, making eerie shadows of trees, their branches looking like long bony fingers reaching out to Jackie.

She shuddered at the thought and hurried on, pulling her jacket closer around herself.

_Snap_

Jackie spun around wildly. No one was in sight. Could there have been someone following her that had stood on a twig?

A few cars swept by, their headlight illuminating the footpath where she walked.

No one was hidden, just long fearsome shadows, dark and creepy.

Cautiously, Jackie moved on, her heartbeat quickening as her steps did.

_It was nothing, _she told herself, her own pitiful confidence not fooling her,_ it was nothing. _

She listened carefully, aware of any movement around her. Her muscles tensed.

_Snap_

She quickened her pace, her heart really racing now.

_Crunch, crunch. _

Footsteps, crunching on leaves, slow and even sounding dreadfully close behind her.

Fearing the worst, Jackie broke into a run, daring a look over her shoulder as she tore down the path.

The path was empty.

Jackie slowed to a stop, staring back down the suburban street path, feeling a fool.

_How old am I? _She questioned herself, ashamed of her stupidly and how immature she was acting; glad no one was around to see her display of being an idiot.

Shrugging, she turned to continue her walk and ran straight into someone standing right in front of her.

Jackie was so surprised and frightened she fell straight over shrieking and landing on her backside in the middle of the footpath.

She wriggled backwards, feeling as if her heart had leaped into her mouth. She glared up at the person who had scared her wits out of her.

Her obstructor stood above her, he hadn't fallen over, or in fact appeared to have moved at all.

His hands were deep in the pockets of his long leather coat that flapped slightly in whatever breeze had picked up.

Dressed completely in black, Jackie could see a dark shirt and leather pants beneath his coat.

The moonlight shone off his white-blonde hair, his pale face held high cheekbones, making him look gaunt and skeleton like.

His presence, even without saying anything or wielding any weapon was fearsome. His icy-blue eyes seemed to bore a hole right through Jackie as he looked down at her.

To Jackie's surprise he held out a hand to her.

"You right?" he questioned without apologising, his strong English accent standing out as unusual to Jackie, not being used to it.

Unsure of whether she should actually take this stranger's hand she got up on her own account brushing herself off as she stood before him.

A little embarrassed, Jackie was eager to get out of there.

"Excuse me," she muttered brushing past the man as she walked past him.

"Wait, you're not just gonna blow me off like that are ya?" he quickly called after her, making Jackie stop in her tracks and turn back.

She turned to face this man again. She did not feel she was the one to apologise for what had happened but did not want to start a fight.

"I'm very sorry," she said, using her best and sweetest voice she could muster up.

Spike frowned; he'd meant to provoke her to make her get angry. He'd been expecting, perhaps even hoping that she'd have turned around and told him to sod off.

"I'm very sorry," in a little girly voice was not the way to win battles, this girl was not tough at all. What kind of Slayer had he come across?

He looked her up and down. Kind of short, not that he minded, anyone shorter than he, he considered a plus seeing half the time he felt as though he had to look up at people.

Her long brown hair fell about halfway down her back in a pony tail. She blinked her blue grey eyes innocently and him, as her cheeks reddened he realised that she'd become embarrassed at his staring.

She got embarrassed also? Could this girl even be a Slayer? Had he gotten it wrong after all?

Spike was about to open his mouth to say something else to provoke her into doing something else when he realised she was no longer in front of him.

He turned and saw her walking briskly off down the path behind him.

He ran after her.

"Wait, wait!" he called after her, jogging to catch up.

"I apologised okay," she snapped walking quicker still.

"I don't care 'bout that," he said, brushing the topic to the side.

"Then why are you still following me?" she asked, stopping and turning to face him.

Spike, still puffing was not sure what to say. Blurting out that she was a Vampire Slayer would make him sound insane.

He said the only thing he could think of saying.

"You're in danger, love."

She looked at him curiously for a beat, her head cocked on the side as if he was a puzzle she couldn't finish.

"You don't even know me," she said her tone dangerously soft and walked off again.

"Oh yeah!" cried Spike after her. "Bet you're wondering why you've become stronger all of a sudden, 'aint ya?"

Jackie stopped in her tracks. He'd read her like a book, a perfect stranger who she'd never met before in her life.

"It's not every teenager who can crumple a car with a football can they?" he mused.

The girl, although metres away from him, seemed to radiate heat like anger at his statement.

"You've been watching me, haven't you?" she accused, anger flowing into her face, making her turn a red that was recognisable even in the darkness.

Spike cautiously chose not to answer this question.

"Look, I know why you've suddenly got all this strength, and I'm here to help you."

Spike winced at his own words, especially 'help'.

She looked at him and uttered only one word.

"Why?"

Spike took a long, deep breath.

"You're a Vampire Slayer."

Spike recoiled slightly, expecting she's yell, or perhaps walk away. However, none of these reactions were hers.

She screamed, high pitched, fear in her eyes, replacing the anger that had been there not so long ago. It was then she turned and fled for her life.

Spike looked after her, puzzled at why she had seemed so distraught.

"What the…" he started to say, beginning to walk after her and nearly bowled over in the process.

A fearsome creature had pushed past Spike, intent on running after the girl, Spike's Slayer. So, she'd been screaming after seeing the Vampire, behind Spike.

Cursing, Spike hurled after the Slayer and this unknown Vampire. He couldn't bear to think what trouble he'd get into if he returned home without what he'd promised to bring back. Most of all, he didn't want this girl to die, whether Slayer or not, she was an innocent and didn't deserve to have her blood drained.

Spike ran, as fast as he could to the unknown Vampire, whose face was fearsome. His forehead had crumpled together, his eyes a fierce yellow with two fangs protruding from his mouth.

He bared them at the Slayer, inches away from swiping at her still screaming body.

Spike, desperate, hurled himself at the Vampire, tackling him to the ground in the process. Pinning his arms beneath him, Spike managed to get in a good punch in the head before he was thrown off and punched in the chin in return.

Upon being hit, Spike felt his own Vampire tendencies kick in, turning his eyes yellow and gathering his forehead together, bumping his smooth skin and his handsome face into an ugly, inhuman monster.

Spike lashed forward, growling like a beast as he leaped at the Vampire, punching him hard in the stomach with such force that it would have knocked the wind out of the Vampire, had he had breath. It didn't stop it from hurting though.

With his moment of hesitation, Spike looked around, searching for his Slayer, who had run for her life, terrified at the sight of a Vampire. He spotted her, not far off, running into a nearby house. At least she was safe.

Due to Spike taking time to look around, the other Vampire had struggled back up; head butting Spike and sending him to the ground.

Punching Spike in the face hard a couple of times, the coward of the Vampire finally ran off into the darkness, leaving Spike in pain on the ground.

He managed to pull himself together, cursing himself for being beaten so easily and for letting his guard down.

Brushing himself off, Spike made his way over to the house she had run to, presumably her own as she had managed to unlock the door.

She was standing in the doorway, looking as if she was about to wet herself.

Seeing Spike, she screamed again, the high pitched wail making Spike's ears hurt.

"You can stop making all the racket!" he shouted over her, surprised that the neighbouring houses hadn't come to see what the commotion was.

She stopped, surprisingly sniffling.

"You…he!' she stuttered, unable to find the right words and not even in fact able to string a sentence together.

"You're a Vampire!" she cried, pointing at him.

Spike, realising that his face was still contorted with his Vampire image, shook his head a little. His fearsome features slowly moulded back into his smooth features.

She did not seem to calm, as his features slid back into his human like ones. Spike tried to move towards her but was abruptly stopped, the invisible force field in the doorway blocking his path. He grumbled aloud.

The curiousness of the Slayer seemed to stop her from being frightened anymore.

"Why can't you get in?" she asked, making sure that he couldn't possibly reach her.

Spike, sighing, kicked in an annoyed fashion at the deck before replying.

"I can't come in unless I'm invited," he said.

Seeing her still puzzled look he explained further.

"It's a Vampire thing."

Although surprised, she seemed somewhat satisfied, realising that she had the upper hand in the situation.

"Alright then, as long as you're stuck there right now, you can answer some questions."

Spike, although annoyed at her, said nothing, allowing her to continue, something he decided, he should really stop doing, it only led to bad news.

"Why did you save me back there?" she asked slowly.

Spike felt this answer was obvious, yet he was used to women being ungrateful. It happened back home a lot.

"If I didn't save you, you'd probably be a bloodless body by now!"

He gave her a glare.

"You're a Vampire, why didn't you kill me?" she asked bluntly. Spike felt it was an insult.

"Not all Vampires are mindless killing machines," he said huffily, turning his nose up at her.

She crossed her arms across her chest, shifting her weight from one foot to another.

"So, you're like a good Vampire or something?"

Spike winced at the word 'good', but nodded.

"Something like that."

Seeming finally satisfied, she stuck out her hand to him.

"Jackie," she said, introducing herself.

Spike took her hand and gripped it briefly.

"Spike," he established himself in return.

"I invite you in then," Jackie said, satisfied, stepping back to allow him in.

Spike, the good Vampire entered the Vampire Slayer's house.


	5. Chapter 5

_5._

_The Realisation_

Spike stood testily, pacing back and forth on hardwood floor of Jackie's house. It had been fortunate that her parents were away for the time being, he hadn't thought a grown man whom Jackie had never mentioned before would go down well, even without them being told he was a Vampire.

Jackie sat on the couch, she looked rather stunned, perhaps a little faint, and her face was pale and white, even more so than Spike's.

Jackie sat in the middle of the couch and melded over what she had just been told.

She'd had her life changed in only a matter of hours. Within those hours she'd learnt of not only the existence of Vampires, but Werewolves, Witches and an assortment of other strange and mystical demons. And not all of them on the side of 'good' like Spike.

She let her mind meld over the conversation that had drastically thrown her whole outlook on life over the edge.

"There's this Vampire Slayer back in California," Spike had started, and then paused. The look that appeared on his face when he mentioned this Slayer was almost indescribable.

He seemed to nearly smile, as if remembering a fond memory, but frown at the same time, as though he'd also been through terrible trouble with this Slayer. He was obviously shy and reluctant to let Jackie see these feelings as he dropped his head and went red, knowing she was looking.

Jackie was also sure that Spike had a least been evil before. The way he spoke, the way he looked, even his attitude told her he'd dabbled in the black side of the world before, as if sucking blood wasn't bad enough.

Whatever the situation, Jackie was sure that however 'evil' he had been before; this American Slayer had changed him. Without him talking of her you could tell how much affection he had for her, it was funny; he hadn't even mentioned her name.

"Anyway," Spike continued, "This Slayer, her gang and I all live in Sunnydale, it just so happens that Sunnydale is also over a hell mouth, love."

Jackie frowned, confused for a second.

"It's an opening to hell," Spike explained hurriedly.

"I guessed as much," Jackie said.

"Well, long story short, there's this evil sort of war approaching and we need everything we've got to defeat it," Spike paused again, looking intently at Jackie, as if trying to guess her reaction. She said nothing, waiting for him to get to the point of his story.

"One of the gang put a spell over the world that made every girl potentially a Slayer, to actually become one.

We called these Slayers potentials, and you're one of them."

Jackie had remained silent, milling it over in her mind, reeling from what she'd been told.

Now she wasn't so sure what to do, she looked to Spike, who had stood patiently beside her while she'd been soaking it up.

He sighed, looking down at her almost sadly.

"I need you to come back to America with me, so we can stop the world, from well, ending."

Spike crossed his arms, putting his body weight on one foot as he studied his young Slayer.

He winced inwardly, realising he'd mentally referred to Jackie as being his Slayer again.

No matter how many times he told himself he wasn't going to look after her, it kept coming back to him, teasing him almost.

He couldn't help it, it was if they'd been drawn together, he had to look after her now, there was no way he could leave such a lost soul wondering like she was. She was utterly alone in Australia with these powers; she needed to come to America, if not for the impending war, but to learn of what she was, and that there were others out there like her.

It was strange, how much Jackie had reminded him of the Slayer at home, how lost and confused she was. When he'd first met the Slayer in America, although having realised what she was much sooner than Jackie had, she had still been somewhat used to her gift.

It suddenly hit Jackie what this meant. She was expected to drop her entire life here in Australia. No friends, no more life whatsoever.

What's more is that she wasn't even sure who she was putting her trust into. This guy was a Vampire for god's sake! How could any guy who survived by drinking human blood good? True, he did save her, but he also wanted to take her away from her life and bring her to a completely different country to fight an impending war between two supernatural forces!

What was she to do! Trust the life she'd built for herself the last sixteen years, or that of a stranger who'd entered her life that very afternoon?

He had made a good point about where her strength had come from though. Spike had explained that every Slayer, despite being female, also possessed super human strength, to help them fight against demons.

She'd also found out more about Spike, who, other than his strange disability to enter houses unless invited, could not come out into the daylight or else he'd burst into flame, could not touch a crucifix because it'd burn him and couldn't be killed unless he was pierced directly in the heart with a wooden stake, or had his head cut off.

She'd also discovered he was about one-hundred and thirty years-old! Jackie had wanted to hear more about his life, pre-1900's but Spike hadn't seemed too keen on telling her about his life, pre-Vampire.

Jackie only found this another reason to be weary of him. He didn't even want to indulge to her what his life was like when he truly wouldn't have been evil, and was in fact living.

Jackie was dragged from her thoughts by Spike snapping his fingers in her face. She shook herself and gave him a glare.

Spike shrugged.

"Sorry love, but you'd been staring at the same spot for ages now," Spike said. Although Jackie was annoyed, her attitude softened, seeing the look of concern on his face.

Jackie felt like she'd been sleep, outside, the sky was near black. It was truly evening now.

Suddenly, Jackie remembered.

"What's the time?" she asked, more herself than Spike as she leaped up from the couch and ran about the house gathering her possessions.

Spike followed her, for a brief moment amused at the fluster she was in as she picked up things, dropped them and mislaid them incessantly.

"Wait a moment pet!' Spike said, physically grabbing her as she rushed past, holding her by the shoulders and looking straight into her eyes.

"You have to come with me to America."

Jackie stared at him, finally stopping running around, her arms full of rumpled clothes.

She shrugged off Spikes hands, looking down at the ground.

"I'm not going to America with you," she said firmly, pulling away and putting her things in a bag.

"What?" said Spike, spitting the words from his mouth. "What do you mean you're not coming?"

"Exactly what I said" Jackie retaliated, still avoiding Spike's icy blue eyes.

"But, the world," he stuttered. "And all that stuff, everyone…"

"Yeah Spike! You say that! But who am I to trust you? I barely know you, nor am I sure that I believe you!"

"Wait!" he shouted, a touch of anger now in his voice.

"I've just told you everythin', saved your life even! And you can't understand that? You can't understand what you've been chosen to do?"

Jackie paused, throwing her bag over her shoulder.

"Do you think I asked to be given these abilities? Do you think I wanted this?"

Spike sighed, knowing this argument well. He calmed himself a little; he wanted to make her understand.

"You have a choice, you can sit here, out of the way, or you can help, with what gift you've been given. It's not destiny, and it's not fate. It's whatever you choose."

Jackie stayed silent for a few moments, Spike didn't persist any further, almost surprised at how philosophical he'd just sounded.

"I'm sorry," Jackie whispered and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going'?" he asked after her.

"To my Hospitality class."


	6. Chapter 6

_6._

_The Body_

"Fine! You know, I don't care anymore! I do not give a crap 'bout your problems, I'm going back without you."

Spike was disappointed what he'd just said didn't make him feel any better. He turned and walked off, determined into the darkness, his own little piece of comfort.

"Good," Jackie called back. "Go then."

Spike trudged off, crunching the gravel beneath his feet. He couldn't believe that he'd followed Jackie this far, all the way to her late class of Hospitality. Who went to late classes anyway?

He cursed, the night uttering no reply.

This _had_ turned out to be useless. There had been absolutely no point in coming to the pile of sand. He kicked the ground, angry at all the effort he had put in, all the time he had wasted.

He paced back and forth, rage radiating from him as he walked his way into the long grass surrounding the training restaurant.

So absolutely angry at himself, he roared aloud, kicking the ground in fury again, this time, he foot coming into contact with something soft.

Spike looked to the ground, squinting through the darkness at what he'd kicked.

One good thing at being a Vampire is the improved night vision.

After a while, his eyes came into focus. He was shocked at what he could see.

What he'd kicked was deep in the long grass, it was hidden from anyone's eyes, even during the day, except if you'd walked straight over it as Spike had done.

It was dead. She was dead, to be exact.

The dead body of a young teenage girl lay spread eagle in the grass. Her eyes were eerily wide open with shock. Her lips were partly open, her lipstick smeared across her face.

Spike bent down, picking up her wrist, holding it between his thumb and forefinger. No Pulse. She was officially dead. Her skin felt cold beneath his touch. She'd been dead for a while now.

This girl's long blonde hair was swept back to one of her shoulders and the collar of her school uniform was soaked in blood, blood, which had dried, running down from the bite mark in her neck.

Spike staggered up, his mouth felt dry, his nostrils filled with the smell of her blood. Even without seeing it, he could smell a small amount of blood in the grass around her.

This girl had been drained by a Vampire.

Spike looked back at the Hospitality Centre, where Jackie had just entered. He glanced back down at the girl. She was roughly Jackie's age and wearing the same uniform Jackie wore, they came from the same school.

Spike tore back through the long grass towards the training restaurant. This girl had been killed near the Hospitality Centre, there was a huge possibility that the offender was actually inside, but who was it?

Spike neared the doors. Even if he couldn't convince Jackie to come with him to America, she was still in danger, even here. He had to help her.

Spike slammed through the doors, startling the patrons who were eating. Many of them turned, and looked at him, registering how strange he looked, but turned their attention eventually back to eating.

"Excuse me sir," called out a young dark haired girl at the reception desk.

"Sir, do you have a booking?"

Spike ignored her and looked around for Jackie. If he couldn't find her, he wasn't sure if he could forgive himself for leaving her alone, nor would anyone back in America.

The place was set up like any usual restaurant. The tables were all being waited on by students, learning about the food industry. Many of the patrons were actually parents of the students working there. Yet, still no sign of Jackie.

Spike looked around at everyone eating and serving there. He'd have no idea who was the Vampire without actually holding a crucifix to everyone's skin and seeing their reaction.

Spike advanced into the restaurant, despite the persistence of the dark haired girl, who was calling him back to the front desk.

Many of the other students stood back to allow him to pass, afraid of this strange man who had marched in without a booking.

Thinking of this, Spike started to wonder. Usually, their teacher would have taken charge of a situation like this, when all his students were lost at what to do.

But where was he?

Starting to panic, Spike ran to the door behind the bar, passing small, frightened looking kids, polishing glasses daintily.

Spike pushed through the swinging door and nearly jumped out of his skin at what he saw.


	7. Chapter 7

_7._

_Slayer Blood_

The scene before him ripped Spike's heart out. What he guessed was the teacher of the restaurant, stood; hands wrapped around Jackie's waist, his forehead had crumpled together, eyes yellowed and his two fangs protruding into Jackie's neck.

Upon Spike's entrance he threw Jackie to the ground. She wept on the floor, grasping her neck. Spike knelt to her pulling her up to her feet; she gave the teacher a terrified look in return. Spike felt relieved, he didn't seem to have drained too much of her blood as she was still conscious.

He smirked in her direction. Her blood smeared his mouth as he stood, his chest heaving in and out as if he'd run a smile. He licked his lips and Spike suddenly realised where he'd seen this Vampire before.

This was the Vampire he'd faced off before and had been beaten by.

"Gavin!" cried Jackie. "You're that Vampire!"

Gavin smiled in a sickly way.

"Can't keep my hands off you, can I?" He laughed aloud, the coldness of his voice ringing throughout the back room.

Spike felt a burst of hatred for this guy.

"You've been draining other kids too haven't you?" Spike accused.

Gavin shrugged but laughed slightly.

"One of the perks of having a night class."

"I'm gonna kill you," Spike said, menacingly, his voice barely louder than a whisper, yet Gavin still heard what he said.

Gavin crossed his arms.

"I don't think it's really me you want to kill, is it?"

Spike looked confused for a moment. Gavin smirked.

"I figured it out," Gavin said, wiping the remaining blood off his face with his sleeve. "The first time I tasted Jackie's blood was just from a tea towel that had been pressed against her cut."

Jackie remembered the glass shattering against her hand. Even though it's only been days ago, the wound had healed completely.

Gavin, sighed, leaning against the wall.

"The taste!" he cried his eyed rolling back into his head. He closed his eyes as if he was slipping through ecstasy. "It was completely unbelievable. No one I'd ever bitten had ever tasted like that! I knew, only one person would ever taste like that." Gavin pointed to Jackie.

"The Slayer."

Jackie looked aghast, gripping Spike tightly for protection against her evil turned Hospitality teacher.

"Every rumour was true!" Gavin went on, pouring out every emotion into his experience.

Spike was familiar with this. In his previous life of being evil, he'd killed two Slayers in his time, knowing very well that Slayer blood was an aphrodisiac to a Vampire.

"You won't really want to kill me," Gavin said to Spike. "Not with the Slayer in your arms, it'll be her you'll really want."

Gavin apparently didn't mind sharing, because he leant back, as if waiting for Spike to make his move.

Spike suddenly realised that Jackie's wound was still bleeding. It dripped, big droplets of rich, deep crimson red.

The smell itself was overpowering all his senses as it was. He suddenly realised how exposed her neck was.

It all would be so easy. He had a Slayer right in his arms. He knew how defenceless she was, her every move.

Spike felt his features bump and two pointed fangs grow into his mouth as his Vampire tendencies arouse in him.

Jackie felt how hard Spike was gripping her, painfully squeezing her close to his body. His Vampire face looked to her neck, lust in his yellow eyes.

She should have seen this coming when Gavin bit her, now the very Vampire who'd told her the truth about their existence was going to bite her.

Jackie whimpered, preparing for her own death.

Spike looked back up at Gavin, who was watching with interest.

"Over my cold dead body," Spike said, releasing Jackie and advancing to Gavin, taking him by surprise and punching him square in the face.

Gavin reeled back, running into the shelves of dishes, sending hundreds of plates crashing to the floor, shattering everywhere.

Spike stood above the pathetic excuse for a Vampire, evil to the bone, and picked on defenceless children.

"Why?" Gavin asked, breathing hard from the punch.

"Because, I'm not like that anymore," Spike said. "I don't work for that side now."

Gavin's eyed narrowed; as if what he'd said had been an insult and pushed Spike backwards, sending him flying into the door and out into the bar of the training centre.

Students screamed, scattering out the way. Gavin pushed roughly through the door, spotted Spike on the floor and pulled him up by the collar of his leather coat. He tossed Spike over the counter, smashing glasses in the process.

The customers screamed, scrambling to get away from the two monsters having a raging war in the middle of their dinner.

Spike prepared himself this time as Gavin advanced on him again. Being a Vampire at least meant that he was already dead, anything that hurt him wouldn't kill him, unless it was a wooden stake.

As Gavin reached Spike on the floor, Spike kicked out, colliding with his legs, sweeping the floor out from under him and sending him to the ground.

_They fell for that trick every time. _

Yet, not everyone countered it with a blow to the stomach as Gavin did.

_Damn. _

Gavin pinned Spike to the floor, punching him hard in the cheek, making him spit blood across the floor.

Spike reached up to Gavin neck, flailing hopelessly, blinking through blood. Gavin easily pinned Spike's arms to the ground. Spike prepared for another blow, desperately hoping Jackie had made it out alright and wasn't bleeding to death in the back room.

Spike winced, knowing it was a pathetic way to receive another blow. He waited and waited, yet the blow didn't come.

He finally opened his eyes, seeing Gavin above him, his eyes wide, and a wooden stick protruding from his heart.

The Vampire turned to dust above him, covering him with his remains.

Spike coughed and blinked, looking to see who'd dusted the Vampire.

Jackie stood, half crying and frightened, but holding a splintered chair leg firmly in her hand.

She'd killed her first Vampire.


	8. Chapter 8

_8._

_All in a Days Work_

Jackie walked at Spike's side. They'd left before the police had come, not quite sure how to explain the situation. Surely no one would believe a crazed Vampire had tried to kill them?

The pair had been silent for a while now, simply walking together and enjoying the cool evening.

It was Jackie who spoke first.

"Thank-you,"

Spike looked at her, noticing suddenly how mature she looked right now, the way she held herself and the expression she wore was that of a wise person.

"For what?" he asked.

"For everything," Jackie said. "You saved me, again."

Spike pushed his hands into his pockets, not used to being thanked, but enjoying it.

"All in a days work," Spike smirked at her.

"Anyway, it was in the end that you kinda, well… you know." Spike didn't quite know how to say he'd been saved by a girl over a hundred years younger than him.

Jackie smiled; she understood what he was trying to say.

Jackie was now satisfied that if ever a 'good' Vampire existed, Spike would be it. He'd come back for her, even after she'd refused to go with him, after she'd doubted his loyalty to the 'good' side.

And he didn't bite her.

Jackie smiled again to herself, feeling a little bit of a spring in her step, despite having been bitten only a few hours ago.

Spike slowed to a stop and Jackie looked back at him. He smiled at her, and held out his hand to her.

"Would you come back to America with me to fight this war love?"

Jackie stayed silent for a while, looking at this Vampire who had befriended her only that day.

She took his hand.

1


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